June 1 minimum wage hike: 75-cent hike for some, but not for all

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - May 28, 2014) - Campaign leaders are available to comment on the minimum wage increase to $11 on June 1, 2014 and the impact of a 75-cent increase on workers.

Although on June 1 the general minimum wage will increase from $10.25 to $11 an hour - it's an amount that still leaves full-time minimum wage earners more than 16% below the poverty line.

"It's nowhere near what workers actually need," said Jesse Cullen from We Are Oshawa. "But it does show that organizing for change can bring results. And it's strengthened my resolve to fight for a $14 minimum wage for all of us."

The June 1 minimum wage hike formalizes a concession made by the Wynne government in response to the province-wide campaign led by community and labour groups to raise the minimum wage to $14.

However, Campaign supporters point out that not all minimum wage workers will receive a 75-cent increase on June 1:

Students under the age of 18 will receive only 70 cents more - a shift from $9.60 to $10.30;

Liquor servers will receive a only 65 cents more - an increase from $8.90 to $9.55; and

Farmworkers are excluded from all minimum wage provisions of the Employment Standards Act, including any restrictions on hours of work, or provisions for overtime and vacation pay.

"The need for at least $14 an hour isn't going away," said Shashi Ahilan, a leader in the Campaign to Raise the Minimum Wage. "There are too many of us - about a million - struggling to get by on inadequate wages and we're not going away."